Getting around in the early days
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Navigating about Alaska was so much more challenging in the early days. The cockpits of even larger planes were sparse compared to modern aircraft. Instrumentation was compass, radio direction finders, fuel gauge, airspeed indicator, flight attitude indicator at the most, some not even that much. Today it is GPS, inertial navigation systems...things that our cell phones are supposed to disrupt. Maps had many blank spots, no google maps or satellite imagery. Pilots flew into area known only in their memories or information passed from pilot to pilot. And the weather channel and FAA were not available, you had to study the sky yourself and make the best judgement you can. There are acronyms like IFR(instrument flight rules) but early pilots joked that it meant "I follow rivers" Don't take technology for granted, navigation was different then-why were we amazed that Amelia lost her way when they relied on celestial navigation, dead reckoning, and gut feelings. Flying is safer they assure us, maybe so, maybe not. does your air crew know what to do if they lose use of technology?
4 comments:
We used to have an Air Force memory teacher visit the Fishing Shack every summer. He taught pilots to fly by memory, memory of landmarks, getting a feel for the lay of the land, etc. He often forgot his hat and had to return for it.
Know what you are saying about depending on modern technolgy. A great example is myslf just a few months ago. Bought a GPS for my truck, told it to take me to Homer and I ended up in Homer, Nebraska. I did not think things looked right and the trip seemd awful long. I can't rememger the name of the instructor, he came down almost every wekeend, he did not even fish but he would always cook bvreakfast at the Picnic Hole for any passing fisherman that wanted to eat. Pancakes and sausage, it was wahathe called his "Country Doctor Breakfast", eat it inthe country and then run to town and see the doctor. What was his name? Spagnolia, I think that was one of the construction workers that boarded wqith us at the Silver King. Maybe our mothers youngest daughter will know?
Mr. Gold wasn't it. I remember eating the pancakes also.
Speaking of our sister, she has dropped off the radar.
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